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Clerks and other perks -
article from The House magazine
Added 7 June 2005
The following article by Robert Rogers, Clerk of the Journals in the Commons, first appeared in The House Magazine on 6 June 2005. It is republished here with their agreement.
Clerks and other perks
Don't be daunted by the retinue of parliamentary staff at Westminster, says Robert Rogers - their guidance and advice are often indispensable.
Clerks at the Table
The clerk of the House, the clerk assistant and the principal clerk of the Table Office sit at the table of the House during question time each day.
In the chamber the clerks’ principal functions are to advise the chair and to record the House’s decisions. They may also be consulted on any aspect of the House’s business by any Member, either in the chamber or elsewhere. Their offices are in the corridor behind the Speaker’s chair. All clerks, in all offices, advise Members with absolute impartiality, and always in confidence.
Table Office
The Table Office, situated behind the Speaker’s chair, is the first port of call for any Member seeking advice on tabling questions or early day motions. On sitting days, the office is open from 10.00am (Mondays), 9.30am (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) and 9.00am (Thursdays and Fridays) until the rising of the House. The office is also open from 11.00am until 3.00pm on Fridays on which the House is not sitting.
Members who want to table oral questions, written questions or motions, should take them to the Table Office, post them, or, by arrangement, send them electronically. The clerks in the office help Members bring draft questions and motions within the rules of the House. They can also advise how best to frame a question in order to elicit particular information. The office can also assist when a government department is next due to answer oral questions, and on the deadlines for tabling questions in time for the ‘shuffle’ – the random selection of questions to be printed on the order paper. Clerks deal with a range of other procedural queries, either on the spot or by identifying the appropriate specialist in another office. All Members – especially new Members – are encouraged to visit the office; telephone (exts 3302 and 3303) or email: tableoffice@parliament.uk
Public and Private Bill Office
The Public and Private Bill Office (on the third floor above the chamber, ext 3258) is the place to come for advice about Bills – private Members’ Bills as well as government Bills – and about standing committees, which deal with the detailed clause-by-clause consideration of Bills and a range of other business.
Amendments to Bills, at both the committee stage and the subsequent report stage on the floor of the House, are tabled in the office. An amendment may be handed in by a Member or by someone properly authorised to act for the Member; but if the Member has signed the amendment anyone may hand it in. Each Bill has a particular clerk looking after it, who can help Members with the drafting of amendments, and may be able to suggest changes which improve an amendment’s chance of being selected for debate.
One of the clerks in the office deals with private Members’ Bills (ext 3254). There are three ways in which a private Member can bring in a Bill:
• through the ballot held at the start of each session, which enables those Members who are successful to set their Bill down for debate on one of the 13 Fridays available;
• through the ‘ten-minute rule’, which provides an opportunity each Tuesday and Wednesday for a Member to make a speech in support of the Bill he or she seeks leave to introduce;
• or by simply presenting a Bill ‘at the back of the chair’. The clerk of private Members’ Bills can help Members draft a short title for their Bill, a long title (descriptive of the Bill’s purpose), and in due course the text of the Bill.
Another clerk deals with private and hybrid Bills, such as the current Bill to authorise the construction of the Crossrail link through London. In addition to standing committees on Bills, the office provides clerks for standing committees on delegated legislation, which debate the merits of government orders and regulations; for European standing committees, which debate proposed EU legislation; and for the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland grand committees. The Public and Private Bill Office also has general responsibility for the conduct of divisions in the House. If a mistake is made in recording Members’ names, please let us know (ext 4921).
The Journal Office
The Journal Office (also on the third floor above the chamber) compiles the legal record of the House’s decisions and all papers laid before it. It undertakes procedural research, and supports the committee on standards and privileges and select committees dealing with procedural matters. Most of its advice to Members is in two areas: the clerk of the journals (ext 3315) advises on parliamentary privilege and its application in particular cases; and petitions for presentation to the House should be seen beforehand by the clerk of public petitions (ext 3310). It is a good idea to take her advice before the collecting of signatures begins!
More
by Robert Rogers......If you want a readable, layman's guide to how the
place works, we recommend How Parliament works by Robert Rogers
& Rhodri Walters (Pearson, 5th ed, 2004. £19.99). Written by
clerks in both the Commons and the Lords.
See www.pearsoned.co.uk/Bookshop/detail.asp?item=100000000013795
The book is available in the Parliamentary Bookshop.
“When the British constitution is in
such flux, describing today’s Parliament might seem like drawing on
water. But in this almost entirely rewritten account Robert Rogers and
Rhodri Walters have achieved the near-impossible: it is clear, elegant,
invaluable, bang up to date, and full of dry wit.”
Andrew Marr, Political Editor, BBC
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